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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609261">Return</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsUtterson/pseuds/MsUtterson'>MsUtterson</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Jekyll &amp; Hyde - Wildhorn/Wildhorn &amp; Bricusse &amp; Cuden/Bricusse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friends With Benefits, M/M, One Shot, Unrequited Love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:28:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>711</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsUtterson/pseuds/MsUtterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After spending a night with his best friend, Henry Jekyll hears something unexpected.</p><p>A standalone alternate ending to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609201">Recklessness</a>.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Henry Jekyll/Gabriel John Utterson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Return</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Based on a production of Jekyll &amp; Hyde the musical that had both Jekyll and Utterson in their late 20s, heavily implied something had taken place between them before the events of the show, and canonically had Utterson unrequitedly in love with Jekyll.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Henry Jekyll walked along the edge of the Serpentine, back and forth, back and forth.</p><p>He wished he could turn back time to last night, force himself to go home, and save himself from the world of confusion he had woken up to this morning.</p><p>How could they ever meet each other again? Would this mark the end of their friendship? Could there still be some way to fix everything, if Henry apologised for what he’d done and solemnly swore it would never happen again?</p><p>Or could it be, an uninvited thought entered Henry’s mind without knocking, could it be that John had enjoyed it just as much as he had? What if they could do it again, have their fun every now and then, without anyone else knowing? It couldn’t hurt anyone, now could it, and it wouldn’t have to change a thing between them, now would it? Would it?</p><p>Henry was ashamed of how the thought made him feel like.</p><p>If only there was some way to shut up that mess of voices residing in his mind, all of them shouting different advice on top of each other! Or at least a way to know for sure, to know the best course of action – to go home, to go beg for forgiveness, or to go beg for more?</p><p>Henry turned around one last time, tried to force down the nervous feeling growing in his chest, and half walked, half ran back to John’s doorstep.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“John, it’s me, can I come in?”</p><p>At long last, the door opened.</p><p>Henry had never seen John cry before, and to be quite honest, it was not a pretty sight to behold. John faced Henry, his pupils unnaturally blue in the middle of his red eyes, with a stark imprint on his cheek like he had been leaning on something hard. He wasn’t wearing any socks and his shirt hung on him shapeless, half unbuttoned.</p><p>Fuck. Henry had never screwed things up this royally before.</p><p>“John. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–”</p><p>Henry couldn’t find the right words, he couldn’t find any words. What hadn’t he meant to? Silence fell over the room, John took a deep breath, and Henry noticed the fingers of his left hand tugging away at nothing.</p><p>“Henry. I love you.”</p><p>The floor under Henry’s feet shifted, the ground under the floor and the street and the whole city shifted, and Henry’s heart shifted to drum a deafening beat in his ears.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>Silence again.</p><p>Henry did not know what to say, did not know whether he would’ve been able to say anything even if he knew. Love. That mysterious faraway something, the something the mermaid from the fairy tale gave her voice away for, the thing Henry believed he would feel on that far-off day when it was his time to wed his yet unmet bride. Suddenly here, suddenly between him and John.</p><p>This certainly wasn’t how Henry had imagined John reacting to his apology.</p><p>There was nothing left anymore except for the other, ultimately more burning reason to return. For the second time that Sunday, Henry pressed his lips against those of his best friend. It was easy enough, letting that half unbuttoned shirt fall on the floor again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Henry and John had known each other for years. Sometimes, Henry felt like his friend could understand him without words, that he could pick up a thought from where Henry had left it and simply keep going. So maybe it was no wonder that they were a good match in this other sense, too. Such a good match, in fact, that for a moment, there was no space in Henry’s mind for anything else.</p><p>But when Henry recalled John’s words about love, he felt an invisible iron band pressing against his lungs and his heart.</p><p>“Henry.” John took another deep breath. The familiar voice sounded odd to Henry, or maybe it was because of the unfathomable words that the man sounded like a stranger. “I’m so happy. I’ve been dreaming of this for so long.”</p><p>The band tightened and pushed Henry’s heartbeat back into his ears.</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>Henry did not know what he would say after shutting John up with yet another kiss finally became impossible.</p>
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